Congratulations

[jtstang]

To all of you who thought the DMN coverage was lacking, you are getting your wish.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/tcowlishaw/stories/092805dnspocowlishaw.11558519.html

UNIVERSITY PARK – At Southern Methodist University, Land of Diminishing Football Expectations, the Mustangs are getting ready for a road game, which is another way of saying they are preparing for another defeat.

That's not what coach Phil Bennett has in mind, of course, but he knows Marshall is a difficult place to play. And he knows the Mustangs have lost 13 road games in a row.

And he knows his record since replacing Mike Cavan is 7-32, but he can't say exactly why.

And he knows that his athletic director, Jim Copeland, said after a rather embarrassing 31-10 home loss to a homeless Tulane team that Bennett's job is not on the line.

Why would that be the case?

In the business world, isn't everyone's job pretty much on the line at all times? If a salesman was good two years ago, does he get to stop selling and keep collecting salary?

Unfortunately for Bennett, a genuinely good man, he has been little more than a salesman since he arrived at SMU and promised his team would contend for conference titles right away.

SMU hasn't contended for anything. Bennett has produced two seasons of three wins and one of none. The Mustangs are 1-3 this year, should be favored to beat Rice for a homecoming victory, might sneak up on Tulsa on the road or trip up East Carolina at home.

That's it. Three-and-out, for most teams, is a bad offensive series. For SMU, it's a season.

Bennett said Tuesday he is surprised that success has been so far from his grasp at SMU.

"I knew this was a tough job," he said. "A lot of things you don't know until you get here. But this is a good place. It's a place where you can build. I never go into games expecting to lose. I just haven't got it on track yet."

Bennett said there is more talent at SMU now than when he arrived. That may be true. Probably is. But it's not better enough to make a tangible difference.

Five games into the season, he's unsure of which quarterback to play and might make a second change at that position before long. It's [deleted] a young team when there is no understood leader at that spot.

It's even harder when those quarterbacks are both seniors. If either Jerad Romo or Tony Eckert finally grabs the reins of this team, it's going to be in their final weeks of eligibility.

We are 17 seasons removed from the death penalty at SMU. Forrest Gregg and Tom Rossley combined to win seven of the team's first 39 games after the NCAA shut down the program. More than a decade later, Bennett has managed to do no better than that.

Rossley was dismissed by Copeland after his second five-win season.

Cavan, who replaced Rossley, had his best year (6-5) with Rossley's leftovers in 1997. After that, he had two four-win seasons in four tries and was shown the door.

If Bennett gets SMU to four wins this year, it will be progress. It may also be a miracle, given what we have seen thus far.

He never sounds that way, of course. Bennett sounded as surprised to be 1-3 this year as he is surprised to have a winning percentage under .200 since coming here from Kansas State.

"I'm not up here to make excuses," Bennett said. "We've got to start playing better on the road. After the way we played Saturday, we've got to be ready for a challenge."

Marshall, which barely lost to Kansas State, will be a challenge. So will UAB, a seven-point loser at Tennessee. So will Houston. So will UTEP.

If he doesn't get SMU to four wins, I'm not saying he should go. Bennett seems to have the right ideas about how to get SMU at least on the map as a contender in Conference USA. But what he says and the optimism he conveys never seem to translate into much on Saturday afternoons.

If that doesn't start happening next season, then we need to ask if the man whose first three big hires were Cavan, Mike Dement and Bennett really has this coach-finding thing figured out.

E-mail [email protected]

[Mustangs35SMU]

Was about to post this.

The sad thing is that I agree with most of it...sadly.

[RGV Pony]

In addition to Copeland's hires Cowlishaw should've mentioned the demise of men's track on his watch.

[SMU Football Blog]

If that doesn't start happening next season, then we need to ask if the man whose first three big hires were Cavan, Mike Dement and Bennett really has this coach-finding thing figured out.

Next season!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? How about next week?

[PonySnob]

Great column!!!!!!

[dcpony]

Has Colishaw been reading this board?

[Pony4Life]

I bet Calvin Watkins does. Maybe he sent TC an e-mail?

[GoRedGoBlue]

In addition to Copeland's hires Cowlishaw should've mentioned the demise of men's track on his watch.

That has more to do with Title IX than anything else...

Which sport would you have cut?

[jtstang]

That has more to do with Title IX than anything else...

Which sport would you have cut?

Football. Hell, we don't really play it anyway.

[WorldStang]

So so so glad this made the paper. Will make the loss at Marshall catalyze the big question next week.. "President Turner, how much job security does Jim Copeland have?". People are finally seeing that we're going nowhere fast with Copeland at the helm.. GET RID OF HIM!!!

[JasonB]

TC was at the press conference yesterday. Maybe having an experienced journalist who will actually push the coach on some questions will make a difference in the reporting!

[RE Tycoon]

Best article out of that paper in years. I sent TC a thank you e-mail. I was shocked that he didn't rip into Copeland's [deleted] tenure, maybe he can start a series and Copeland, the board and whoever else is holding us back will be next.

[SoCal_Pony]

In addition to Copeland's hires Cowlishaw should've mentioned the demise of men's track on his watch.

That has more to do with Title IX than anything else...

Which sport would you have cut?

GRGB,

Title IX plays a role, but I suspect the lack of revenues from our FB and BB teams over the past 18 years played a bigger role.

[SMU Football Blog]

TC was at the press conference yesterday. Maybe having an experienced journalist who will actually push the coach on some questions will make a difference in the reporting!

1. Calvin Watkins does a hell of a job, IMO.

2. Since someone else asked, I know for a fact that Calvin Watkins reads this board from time to time.

[Crong]

will there be a part 2 piece? how policies compare to the competition.